At its October 17, 2008 meeting, the Public Welfare Foundation’s Board of Directors approved $4.2 million in grants to 28 organizations. These included more than $1.1 million in grants through the Foundation’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program, $985,000 in grants through its Health Reform Program, and nearly $1.8 million in grants through its Workers’ Rights Program. Under the Special Opportunities Program, a $175,000 grant was made over two years to promote major federal regulatory reform that will better protect public health and safety.
A complete list of grants approved at the meeting follows:
Workers’ Rights
Alaska Public Interest Research Group – Anchorage, AK ($35,000 -1 year)
Support for a statewide, grassroots effort to educate Alaskans about the need for paid sick days and to advocate for policy changes.
Alliance
for Fair Food (Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Student Farmworker Alliance, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative) – New York, NY ($360,000 – 1 year)
Support for a coordinated campaign to promote socially responsible purchasing in the corporate food industry, starting with improved wages and working conditions for farm workers in central Florida.
Center for Economic and Policy Research -
Washington, DC ($87,000 – 1 year)
Support for research to inform the debate about the economic benefits of union membership, especially for low-wage workers.
Center for Law and Social Policy - Washington, DC ($75,000 – 1 year)
Support to identify businesses concerned about paid sick days and to provide educational materials about the issue.
MomsRising.org –
Bellevue, WA ($150,000 – 1 year)
General support and project support for work on paid sick days.
Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy – Washington, DC ($381,000 – 2 years)
Support for “Beyond OSHA: Rethinking Occupational Illness and Injury Prevention for the 21st Century,” a project that aims to reform federal policies on workplace health and safety.
Public Citizen Foundation – Washington, DC ($439,000 – 2 years)
Support for comprehensive advocacy in the administration, Congress and the courts to improve federal standards for workers’ health and safety.
Public Justice
Center
- Baltimore, MD ($100,000 – 1 year)
Support for policy reforms to benefit low-income workers in Maryland, including improving their access to private counsel for wage theft claims.
United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities – Lexington, KY ($162,000 – 2 years)
General support.
Criminal and Juvenile Justice
Brennan
Center for Justice – New York, NY ($50,000 – 1 year)
Support to study and report on the national trend of high fines and fees imposed by state legislatures on indigent defendants in the criminal justice system.
Children’s Action Alliance– Phoenix, AZ ($75,000 – 1 year)
Support for Justice for Arizona Youth and its effort to push for state policies that would result in fewer youths being tried and incarcerated in the adult criminal justice system.
Colorado
Criminal Justice Reform Coalition – Denver, CO ($50,000 -1 year)
General support.
Community Foundation for the National Capital Region – Washington, DC ($300,000 – 2 years)
Support to implement the next stage of a system-wide juvenile justice reform effort in Washington, DC through the Service Coalition system.
Council of StateGovernmentsJusticeCenter – New York, NY ($175,000 – 2 years)
Support to maximize opportunities for people leaving prison created by the enactment of the Second Chance Act.
Fortune Society – Long Island City, NY ($75,000 – 1 year)
Support for the DavidRothenbergCenter for Public Policy to reform policies that restrict the ability of ex-offenders in New York to obtain jobs, housing, education and other necessary supports for successful reintegration into society.
Prison Fellowship Ministries – Lansdowne, VA ($100,000 – 1 year)
Support for the Justice Fellowship Project Outreach to launch a media and public education campaign to gain consensus on the need for federal sentencing reform.
Rhode Island
Family
Life
Center
– Providence, RI ($75,000 – 1 year)
Support for research and advocacy to reduce barriers to re-entry for people who have been in prison.
Sargent
Shriver
National
Center on Poverty Law –
Chicago, IL
($60,000 – 1 year)
Support for research and advocacy work to reduce barriers to re-entry for people who have been in prison.
Southern PovertyLawCenter – Montgomery, AL ($200,000 – 2 years)
Support to reduce Florida’s use of juvenile detention and incarceration as part of its effort to reform the juvenile justice system.
Health Reform
Boston
Medical
Center
– Boston, MA ($100,000 – 1 year)
Support to extend the medical-legal partnership model beyond pediatric medical care settings to include internal medicine, geriatrics, and oncology.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Washington, DC ($400,000 – 2 years)
Support for the project, “Shaping Debates on Federal and State Health Care Reform,” which provides advocates and policymakers with the Center’s analyses and technical assistance on federal and state budget, tax and health insurance policies.
Consumer Health Foundation – Washington, DC ($100,000 – 2 years)
Support for the Regional Health Collaboration, which seeks to improve the health of all residents in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and to eliminate racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in health status and access to services.
DC AppleseedCenter – Washington, DC ($75,000 – 1 year)
Support for the CareFirst Reform Project, which works to ensure that the non-profit insurer CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield fulfills its charitable obligation as a tax-exempt entity to address the health needs of the Washington, DC community.
Federation of Congregations United to Serve – Orlando, FL ($60,000 – 1 year)
General support.
Small Business Majority – Sausalito, CA ($150,000 – 1 year)
Support for the “Affordable Health Care Project,” which focuses on the Washington, DC metropolitan area, New Mexico and the 11 states that comprise the Foundation’s Southern Health Partners to create a small business voice for health care that guarantees affordable coverage for all.
Tenants’ and Workers’ Support Committee - Alexandria, VA ($100,000 – 2 years)
Support for organizing and advocacy to advance health care reform in Virginia.
Special Opportunities
Center for Progressive Reform – Edgewater, MD ($175,000 – 1 year)
Support for a Regulatory Policy Initiative that will propose reforms in the regulatory process to better protect public health, safety, civil rights, the environment, consumers, and workers.
Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship – Washington, DC ($100,000 – 2 years)
General support.
